Federal authorities arrested a 31-year-old Georgia man Thursday for allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building in downtown Atlanta earlier this week, in what prosecutors described as an « act of terrorism. »
Inique Hinton, of Douglasville, was charged with attempted arson of a federal building and depredation of government property, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.
« An attack on federal property is an attack against our democracy. It is an act of terrorism. It is an act of political violence, and it cannot stand, » U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg said during a news conference.
According to prosecutors, security cameras captured Hinton walking near the ICE building at 180 Ted Turner Drive just before 8:15 p.m. Tuesday.
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Minutes later, he allegedly ignited an object and threw it toward the facility, striking the exterior fence and causing flames to spread.
Investigators said they recovered burned cloth, lighter fluid, a glass bottle and a lighter at the scene.
Hinton was arrested Thursday by the FBI at a residence in Cobb County.
« This was obviously an attack directed at the ICE facility, » Hertzberg said, adding that prosecutors would respond with « extreme severity » because « we need to send the message that this is not OK. »
« We can talk about immigration, we can have civil discourse, but we cannot allow criminal acts, terroristic acts, like the one that was committed three days ago in our city, » he continued.
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Hertzberg also said the Atlanta ICE building had previously been targeted approximately six years earlier, during the summer of 2020.
« I want to make very clear we are not going back to that, » he said. « We will not tolerate attacks on government property and attacks against federal law enforcement. »
Atlanta police witnessed the incident and attempted to pursue the suspect but were unable to apprehend him that night. The FBI later released images of an unidentified suspect and offered a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to his identification and arrest.
Hinton faces a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years in federal prison if convicted of attempted arson, while the government-property charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years.
Authorities said the investigation remains ongoing.
Source link : https://www.foxnews.com/us/fbi-arrests-georgia-man-accused-throwing-molotov-cocktail-atlanta-ice-facility
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Publish date : 2026-10-24 06:53:00
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